FT 

MEADE 

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3 AUG - 1 

C.UHV . 1936 

EXF'OSiTlOJSr 




XV 


INTERSTATE 

COMMERCE COMMISSION 

library 

* MAY 15 1899 


STATISTICS AND RESOURCES 


| inrimiati anil {fjrral northern 

*b J * 


RAILROAD. 


..v 


f 


CINCINNATI: 

Wrightson & Co./Printers, 167 Walnut Street. 

1871. 


v./. 


' ; ’ ; 4 " 




EXPOSITION 


OF THE 


STATISTICS AND RESOURCES 

OF THK 



RAILROAD. 


CINCINNATI: 

Wrightson & Co., Printers, 167 Walnut Street. 
1871. 







)37l 


/ 








I 
















*> 


i 

♦> > 














• V 



OFFICERS. 

COL. S. W. MORTON, - . President. 

JAMES T. BRADY, Esq., of Pittsburg, Pa., - Treasurer. 
HON. THOS. WRIGHTSON, of Newport, Kg., Secretary. 


JPIME C TOMS. 


COL. S. w. MORTON, 

MAJ. GEN. J. C. FREMONT, 
HON. A. S. LATTA, 

HON. F. C. LeBLOND, 

GEN. DURBIN WARD, 


HON. J. C. MeKEEMY, 
JAMES T. BRADY, Esq. 
A. J. HODDER, Esq. 

H. D. FAULKNER, Esq. 
DAVIS JOHNSON, Esq. 


W. A. WESTON, Esq. 















♦ 



EXPOSITION 


OF THE 







E;AIIjE;0 AD. 


WHAT IS ITS OBJECT? 

The object of the Great Northern Railroad is to make 
the most important and profitable link in the great axial line 
from the central city of the Ohio valley to the central port 
of the great lakes. If we are correct in this statement, 
and if there be no such line now in existence, then it fol- 
lows, of course, that such a line is needed, and that it will 
amply repay the capital invested. We think that is demon- 
strable, and in order to understand the case, let us notice 
first the geographical and commercial relations which exist 
between the Ohio valley and the lakes. Between them there 
is literally no axial line, unless we consider the Illinois Cen- 
tral as such ; but that is only between the mouth of the 
Ohio and the southern extremity of Lake Michigan. It 
does not touch any part of the great lake line, which goes 


6 


Exposition of the 


through the Straits of Mackinaw on one side to Lake Supe- 
rior and the North-west, and on the other to Lakes Huron, 
Erie, and Ontario. The short line from Cincinnati to Toledo 
does not supply the want of such a trunk line at all. It 
simply goes to one of the ports of Ohio on Lake Erie. 
There is, therefore, no such line as we have described 
and there can be no serious competition with it when made. 
An axial line from the center of the Ohio valley to the center 
of the lakes, is, therefore, a railroad need, and will begin with 
the immense advantage of being the only line which will 
connect the commerce of the great lakes and of the rail- 
roads of Canada with the great commerce and population of 
the Ohio valley. Nor is this all ; it will be part of the grand 
axial line which will connect the Northern lakes with the 
Southern Atlantic; for a Southern Railroad from Cincin- 
cinnati will, in some way, be made, and then nothing on 
this continent or in Europe will equal in its importance or 
the magnitude of its triumphs — the great central line from 
the Straits of Mackinaw through the Ohio valley to the 
Southern Atlantic. Let us consider first, the whole line 
geographically and commercially. That we may have a clear 
view of the part this Company is engaged in, consider that 
at the Straits of Mackinaw the whole system of land and 
water in the North concentrates; the three great lakes, Supe- 
rior, Huron, and Michigan lie around and point to Mackinaw, 
covering eighty thousand square miles of surface; they 
make vast inland seas, whose commerce every year is 
rapidly increasing, and on whose shores towns and cities 
are fast springing up. On the North and East is the 


Cincinnati & Great Northern 'Hai.lroad. 


7 


immense region of Canada. On the West the mineral pen- 
insula of Michigan. Far in the Northwest around Lake Supe- 
rior, lies that land of mild climate and rich vegetation which 
is hereafter to be the great wheat region of this country. 
All the products of this vast country will in future years be 
borne on the waters of the lakes, either to or by the Straits 
of Mackinaw. Looking to the South we see in the midland 
country the great valley of the Ohio, with 230,000 square 
miles of the richest lands, and the greatest coal beds, with 
one of the densest populations of this country. There is 
Cincinnati, with its surroundings, of 300,000 inhabitants, 
seeking to extend its arms to the far North on the one side, 
and the far South on the other. Looking again to the 
Southern Atlantic, we see all the Southern States, and 
especially those of Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia, anx- 
ious to connect themselves with the valley of the Ohio, and 
especially with Cincinnati, and thence to the farthest North 
and Northwest. We see, then, that if this grand axial line 
can be completed, there will be no equal to it on the globe. 
We say this advisedly. 

In this country there has been a rage for making rail- 
roals, East and West, and this was natural and reasonable, 
for the great market for Western produce was on the East- 
ern Atlantic, and the great bulk of merchandise was 
received from there ; but those roads were almost exactly 
on the same lines of latitu le, and it eeems not to have been 
remembered that an axial line which crossed all lines of 
latitude, must necessarily create more business than any 
other, because of its continual interchange of different 


8 


Exposition of the 


products. If an axial line is made in its wholeness, it will 
pass through fifteen degrees of latitude, whose products are 
enumerated in the following table : 


STATES. 


LATITUDE. 


Florida 

(& 

U 


_ 31° 

. 31° 

. 31° 


Alabama 


3*2° 


PRODUCTIONS. 


Oranges. 

Sugar. 

Cotton 

Cotton and corn. 


« 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

U 

Ohio 

u 

u 

Michigan . 

it 

it 

it 

it 


This statement is enough to show a most extraordinary 
stimulus to commerce on a line of railway. In two days 
any inhabitant on that line may be supplied from their/ 
native source with sugar, cotton, corn, wheat, tobacco, iron, 
coal, lead, copper, pine, cedar ; with wool, flour, hemp, and 
fruits of every description ; with fish from the sea and nsh 
from the lakes; with bread, oil, and wines; in fine, with 
every thing that supports, clothes, or houses men / with 
every thing which supplies his wants or contributes/ to his 
material happiness. Now we unhesitatingly say tbkt this 
makes the Cincinnati and Great Northern line far Superior 
to either of the Pacific roads. They with all the Ea^t 
and West lines, pass over the same lines of latitude, and 


33° 

34° 

30° 

36° 

37° 

38° 

39° 

40° 

41° 

42° 

43 ° 

44° 

45° 

46° 


Cotton, corn, tobacco, iron. 

Corn, tobacco, coal, iron, horses, mules 
Corn, wheat, tobacco, cotton, hemp, iron 
Wheat, corn, hogs, cattle, wine. 

Wheat,, corn, hogs, cattle, flax. 

Wheat, corn, cattle. 

Wheat, corn, hay, wool. 

Pine, cedar, coal. 

u u u 

Pine, hemlock, cedar. 

Pine, copper, lead, fish. 



Cincinnati & Great Northern 'Railroad. 


9 


therefore do not and can not furnish an equal amount of 
the materials of traffic which will be furnished by a North 
and South line. The entire arterial line, from the Straits 
of Mackinaw to Pensacola, will not exceed 1,200 miles, 
which is only half the distance from New York to San 
Francisco over the Pacific road, and yet we say without any 
fear ol contradiction, that a railroad from Mackinaw to 
Charleston, Savannah or Pensacola, will have double the 
traffic which can pass over the present Pacific road. The 
whole distance from the Straits of Mackinav/ to Savannah 
(running at the rate of the Pennsylvania road) can be run 
in (40) forty hours. The northern, the central, and the 
southern climes will be passed through with only a single 
night intervening ! In two days the citizen of the North 
or South may traverse sixteen degrees of latitude, six States 
of the Union, and be carried through all the varieties of 
products, agricultural and mineral, which the United States 
produce. This can not be said of any other line of rail- 
way in the United States, made or projected. Considering 
the line as a unit from Mackinaw to Pensacola or Savannah, 
or New Orleans, it can not be equaled in extraordinary results 
by any other line in North America. 

Such is the general object and necessary results of a great 
axial line from the center of the great Northern lakes to the 
center of the valley of the Ohio and the Southern Atlantic. 
The immediate object of the Cincinnati and Great Northern 
is to complete the unfinished part in the State of Ohio ; 
but that part, as we have remarked, is the most important 
and the most profitable, because it lies in the most populous 
and grain bearing district between Mackinaw and the 


10 


Exposition of the 


South. The other parts of the grand line are provided for 
and will be made by other companies, so that a short time 
must elapse before the great North and South axial line, in 
the very heart of the United States, and without a compe- 
titor, will be complete. The part about to be built in Ohio 
by the Great Northern company is 198 miles (viz.: from 
the Michigan line to Cincinnati), of which 55 miles have 
been graded, and a large amount of work done on the line 
north. The line will connect at Cincinnati with the Tun- 
nel. The distance of the whole line, and of the parts from 
Mackinaw to Savannah or Pensacola are as follows : 


Whole Line 1,250 Miles. 

Completed of this line 750 “ 

To be made 500 “ 


Of the part to be made, 250 miles are in Michigan, for 
which ample provision has been made, and a large part of 
the residue in Kentucky and Tennessee, for which sufficient 
charters and much means are all ready. If the small part 
in the State of Ohio can be completed, it will secure the 
whole. The part which lies in Ohio is from Cincinnati to 
the State line of Michigan, and the distance, as surveyed, 
is as follows •; 


Cincinnati to Dayton 

Dayton to Greenville 

Greenville to Celina (Mercer county). 

Celina to Van Wert. 

Van Wert to Paulding 

Paulding to Bryan (Williams county) 
Bryan to Michigan State line 


52£ Miles. 


Oi „ 
22 1 “ 
18f “ 

22 £ “ 
15| “ 


Total 


198 « 


From Greenville to Cincinnati there is already a railroad 
line, but the company have power and reserve the right to 
finish an independent line to Cincinnati, should circum 


Cincinnati & Great Northern Utailroad. 


11 


stances make it expedient, and if so, they will have supe- 
rior advantages in the Tunnel about to he completed. 
From the Michigan State line to Mackinaw there are ample 
grants of public land, and a part is already made. The 
first object of the Great Northern Company is, to com- 
plete the link between Cincinnati and the Michigan line. 

2. PRESENT CONDITION OF THE WORK. 

The road from Greenville to Van Wert had been nearly 
graded by the Cincinnati and Mackinaw company, and an 
ample subscription has been raised along the line to com- 
plete. On 53 miles, therefore, or nearly half the present 
line in Ohio, the road is ready for the iron. North of this 
to the Michigan line, considerable grading has also been 
done. The present condition of this work offers the great- 
est possible advantages to the new company. With part of 
the work done; with almost a straight line; with little curva- 
ture and low grade — no enterprise in the country offers 
better prospects to the projectors. But it is not in this 
light only we wish to consider it. It is but part of a grand 
work, which, as we have explained, must be of immense 
advantage to the country, of immense magnitude in com- 
merce, and if that be true, of great profit to the owners. 
Hence, we shall now consider its advantages, both as a 
through and a local line. 


3. ADVANTAGES OF A THROUGH LINE. 

1. As a through line, the Cincinnati and Great Northern 
road will make the only arterial line north and south 
which can be made east of the Mississippi river. If any 


12 


Exposition of the 


one doubts that, let him take a map and consider this 
proposition. A road from the Ohio to Erie, to Cleveland, 
to Toledo, or Chicago, does not constitute a complete line 
from the axis of the lakes to the Ohio river. Erie, Cleve- 
land, Toledo, are on the southern shore of Lake Erie, and 
Chicago at the extreme southern end of Lake Michigan. 
No road to them can connect with the great Canada lines, 
or reach the great line of navigation which does (and must 
hereafter to a tenfold greater degree) traverse lakes Superior 
and Huron. Only one of those places (Toledo) has a direct 
line to the center of the Ohio valley. Half of North 
America is north of Toledo and Chicago, and a large part 
of it must in future years grow populous and become a wheat 
bearing country, and no road can connect this country with 
the South, but one to the Straits of Mackinaw. This road 
will be the only one by which Southern productions, such 
as cotton, sugar, and coffee, can be supplied directly to the 
immense region of country (soon to have millions of people) 
which lies round lakes Superior and Huron. The statistics 
of Canada West show that it is growing with great rapidity, 
and we learn ( u from Blodgett’s Climatology ”) that the cli- 
mate around Lake Superior is so mild that it permits the 
same culture and population as we now see in New York and 
New England. Hence, assuming Cincinnati and Mackinaw 
as the two points to be connected, the railroad line which 
connects them will be an arterial line, to which there can 
be no equal, except the one which passes East and West 
through the great cities. 

2. In connection with these facts must be taken into view 


Cincinnati & Great Northern 'Railroad . 


IB 


the railroad connections between the systems of road in the 
British possessions and those in the Ohio valley. Such a 
connection must exist hereafter, and it will soon become 
imperative. The British possessions, as we have already 
intimated, can not get the productions of the South by the St. 
Lawrence, or Boston or New York, as quickly or as cheaply 
as by a direct route from Detroit or Mackinaw to the heart 
of the South. Already the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada 
has penetrated the whole length of Canada to Sarnia, at the 
southern end of Lake Huron, and there connects with the 
steamers and vessels navigating that great inland sea. 
Crossing the river at Port Huron, it has proceeded due West 
50 miles, till it has reached La Peer. A few miles more 
it will cross the line of the Cincinnati and Great Northern 
road. Thence to Cincinnati only remains to complete this 
line, we have described from Greenville to the State line 
of Michigan, in order to connect the whole railroad system 
of the Dominion immediately with Cincinnati. The effect, 
then, of completing the Great Northern in Ohio will be to 
make it a great through route connecting the British 
Dominion with our Southern States. The magnitude of 
such a traffic can scarcely be imagined. For it is beyond 
a doubt that the whole supply of Southern productions for 
the British Dominions would pass over that road. 


4. ITS ADVANTAGES AS A LOCAL LINE. 

The way traffic on this road, in both freight and passen- 
gers, must be beyond the general average of local traffic, 
for reasons which we will now consider ; 


14 


Exposition 0/ the 


1. The Lumber Trade will be immense. Cincinnati 
must hereafter be supplied with lumber almost wholly 
from the peninsula of Michigan, and as that grows scarce, 
from the British dominions. The supply of pine lumber 
from the upper Ohio valley has greatly diminished and 
must soon cease, while that from the upper Mississippi is 
too distant and can not compete at all with that from Michi- 
gan and Canada. Already Cincinnati and all the towns in 
Southern Ohio receive large quantities of lumber from the 
North. The Miami valley must be supplied from that 
region, and this traffic alone will soon give employment to 
one road. It is proved by statistics that the towns of 
the Miami valley consume one-fourth as much lumber as 
Cincinnati, and that a growing population of 200,000 
requires 100,000,000 feet of lumber. There is double that 
number now in the Miami country, and half as much more 
on the Kentucky side, to be reached through Cincinnati. 
We shall not over state the matter when we say that 300,- 
000,000 of feet of lumber will be required in the region 
round Cincinnati, to be brought from the North. It is not 
long since it was questioned whether railroads could carry 
lumber ; but the experience of the Erie Railroad has com- 
pletely demonstrated that. The average distance of carry- 
ing lumber from the pine region to Cincinnati will be 350 
miles, and profitably paid at $6.00 per 1,000 feet, which 
will make $1,800,000 for the whole amount brought. If 
we suppose the Cincinnati and Great Northern road carried 
but half of that, and from its directness it must have a supe- 
riority over all competitors, it would receive (counting the 
whole line) nearly a million of dollars from that source. 


Cincinnati &' Great Northern 'Railroad, 


15 


2. The distribution of coffee, sugar, cotton, and groceries, 
to the intermediate country will make another great source 
of business. The reports of the Chamber of Commerce at 
Cincinnati show that the imports and exports of these arti- 
cles at that port have constantly and greatly increased from 
year to year. The distribution of them is to each section, 
in proportion to the consumption. After allowing for all 
possible competition from Louisville and Chicago, it is cer- 
tain that the whole region from Toledo to Michigan City, 
and south to Cincinnati, must be supplied from this city ; 
hence the Cincinnati and Great Northern road will have all 
of this traffic, which lies in its own proper section, without 
competition. Heretofore that section has been without 
railroads, but when the Great Northern is made, it will, of 
course, increase the growth, and therefore the consumption 
of products, with great rapidity. The traffic for local con- 
sumption will therefore be not only great but fast growing. 

3. The distribution of manufactures, especially of iron, 
wood, and tobacco, will amount to a large tonnage. Esti- 
mating by the former tonnage of the canal to Toledo, and 
the great increase of population since, we think that not 
less than 40,000 tons of these articles will be distributed by 
the Great Northern road. 

4. The local traffic in produce from Greenville to Lan- 
sing, and only in a breadth controlled by the road, is at 
least the business of 390,000 people. Estimating their 
productions as equal to that of the same number of peo- 
ple in Indiana and Illinois, there will be 200,000 tons of 
surplus produce to be carried off. No doubt there will be 


16 


a Exposition of the 


competition for this from the Toledo, the Michigan Southern, 
and the Fort Wayne roads, but it will be within bounds to 
say that half of this (100,000 tons) will be carried by the 
Great Northern. The receipts from this source can not be 
counted at less than $250,000 per annum. 

5. Local traffic in people furnishes all railroads with a 
large portion of their business The experience of railroads 
shows that the number of local passengers average 60 per 
cent, of the population. If the population within the influ- 
ence of the Great Northern from. Greenville to Lansing be, as 
we have estimated, 390,000, then there will be 232,000 local 
passengers, who will average three cents per mile on half 
the road, which is 135 miles (it being 270 from Cincinnati 
to Lansing). This will give in that distance, $765,000. 
The rapid growth of the country, which must ensue by the 
making of this road, will greatly increase this branch of its 
business. 

From these general considerations it is very evident that 
if we confine ourselves to the part of the Great Northern 
between Cincinnati and Lansing, 270 miles, the local receipts 
only can not fall short of $2,000,000. If this seems large, 
it must be recollected that from Michigan, North-west Ohio, 
and North-east Indiana, there is now really no great railroad 
line to the central city of the Ohio valley or to the South, 
There has been no development of the trade of that region 
in that direction, and that the road will pass through a most 
fertile country, rapidly growing up with a thrifty people 
and having on the North the great lumber region, with 
whose produce Cincinnati must be supplied; and on the 


Cincinnati <0 Great Northern Railroad. 


17 


South the region and ports from which Southern products 
must come. To prove this more in detail, we shall furnish 
here some tables, which can not be controverted, and which 
demonstrates more than all we have said. 

5. THE AGGREGATE RESOURCES OF THE GREAT 
NORTHERN DEMONSTRATES: 

1. Assuming the Great Northern to control only a 
part of the Cincinnati and Mackinaw which lies between 
Dayton and Lansing (a distance of 270 miles), the follow- 
ing tables will show the population, products and commerce 
of the region belonging to it, the proportion of local pas- 
sengers resulting from that population, the annual increase 
of consumption and production, and the average annual 
increase of business on established railroads. 

Table 1. GROWTH OF POPULATION AND PRODUCTION 
ON THE LINE. 

On the line of the Great Northern from Dayton to Lan- 
sing, and not competing with other roads, are (in Ohio) the 
counties of Darke, Mercer, Van Wert, Paulding, Defiance, 
Williams, and half of Montgomery ; in Indiana the counties 
of Randolph, Jay, Adams, Dekalb, and Steuben ; in Michi- 
gan the counties of Hillsdale, Jackson, Ingham, Branch, Cal- 
houn, and Eaton. This district comprises 10,000 square 
miles, and its growth in the last twenty years has been as 
follows : 


18 


^Exposition 0/ the 


YEARS. 

population. 

GRAIN PRODUCTS. 

Tn T850 

194,640 

299,044 

387,604 

8 704,000 bushels. 
14.666,000 “• 

23,000,000 “ 

Tn I860 

Tn 1870 


Tnorpnsft 

100 per cent. 

162 per cent. 



This table. proves what all the statistics furnished by the 
Census proves, that 'production increases much faster than 
population, especially in the newer parts of the country. 
All the above products are consumed by men except oats, 
which make a comparative small part ; and corn, a portion 
of which is consumed in meal, and a large part in the manu- 
facture of whisky, which in its turn makes a large article 
in transportation. Taking the consumption of men and of 
stock animals out of the above products of 1870, and there 
remains at least 10,000,000 bushels of grain, or the products 
of grain, for transportation to a market. This makes over 
160,000 tons of produce on the immediate line of the road 
from Dayton to Lansing, which must be transported to 
market. 

Table 2. THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE BETWEEN THE 
LAKES AND THE OHIO VALLEY. 

The commerce between the lakes and the Ohio valley is 
carried on by the railroads and the canals; and the 
increase of the markets for produce and groceries whether 
they be West or East, is fairly represented by the increase 
of commerce at Cincinnati. The statistics of these 


Cincinnati & Great Northern 'Railroad . 


19 


have been kept for many years, so that we can ascertain 
the 'proportions of increase in this trade, and thus deduce 
the increase of commerce, a large part of which may be 
expected for the Cincinnati and Great Northern road. 


INCREASE OF TONNAGE ON RAILROADS FROM THE 
LAKES TO THE OHIO. 


RAILROADS. 

TONNAGE IN 1859. 

TONNAGE IN 1869 

INCREASE. 

Cleveland, Col. & Cin_ 
Cin., Ham. & Dayton__ 
Cin. & Sandusky 

255,688 tons. 
268.819 “ 
84,227 “ 
50,000 “ 
508,616 « 
91,400 “ 

831,644 tone. 
419,650 “ 
235,937 “ 
337,839 “ 
476,542 « 
109,905 “ 

210 per cent. 
57 “ 

180 « 

500 « 

60 “ 

20 « 

Dayton & Michigan 

Little Miami, & Col 

Sandusky & Newark 

TW.nl 

1,053,750 tons. 

2,411,217 tons. 

130 per cent. 



Two of the above roads carry some Eastern freight, but 
all of them have their termini on Lake Erie and Cin- 
cinnati. The Toledo road had just been finished, and 

almost its whole business is a new creation, arising from the 

« 

very region of country we are now considering. This table 
is very important in showing both the rapid progress of 
railroad business, and the rapid development of production 
in the lake region. Two great facts are conclusively proved 
by it : L That if we suppose a railroad made between the 
lakes and the Ohio valley, with almost no business in the 
first year, in ten years the increase of business (130 per 
cent, as the aggregate of North and South roads,) would 
give a remunerative traffic ; and 2. That if the development 
of the country round the shores of Lakes Michigan, Huron 


20 


Exposition of the 


and Superior be any thing like what it has been on the 
shores of Lake Erie, that the Cincinnati and Great 
Northern road, and all the roads yet made or suggested will 
not be able to do the business ivhich will arise. Lake Erie is 
small compared with Lakes Huron and Superior. Yet, on 
the southern shore of Lake Erie have arisen three cities, with 
four railroads to the Ohio valley. We say, then, that not 
only is the Cincinnati & Great Northern road needed , but 
that when made it will not be able to do the immense busi- 
ness which will arise between the lakes and the Ohio valley 
Let us now look at the increase of commerce in Cincin- 
nati, which may be taken simply as the representative of 
the great markets of the Ohio valley. The following table 
shows the values of imports, exports, and manufactures of 
Cincinnati for the year 1860 and 1870 : 


TEARS. 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

MANUFA CTEBE3 

I860 

$ 90,198,136 
312,978,665 

* 

1 67,023,126 
193,517,690 

$ 60,000,000 
127,459,021 

1870 


Trmrpasfi __ 

137 per cent. 

190 per cent. 

112 per cent. 



Thus we have in another form the precise demonstration 
furnished by the former table. While ten years give an 
increase of 130 per cent, in railroad business to the lakes, 
the same ten years give an average of 150 per cent, in the 
business of Cincinnati, the representative market of the 
Ohio valley. The increase has come entirely from the 
North, for she has as yet no Southern road, nor will she 


Cincinnati &• Great Northern Hlailroad. 


21 


have until the Cincinnati and Great Northern Railroad 
to the South Atlantic makes part of it. The tables above 
prove conclusively, as much so as a mathematical demon- 
stration, that the vast increase of business between the 
lakes and the Ohio valley demand imperatively a great 
axial line from the center of the lakes to the Ohio val- 
ley, and that line will be one of the greatest, the most 
important, and the most profitable within the United 
States. 

Table 3. SHOWING THE NUMBER OF LOCAL PASSEN- 
GERS TO THE SQUARE MILE. 


ROADS. 

SURFACE DRAINED. 

NUMBER OF 

LOCAL PASSENGERS. 

Cleveland & Columbus __ 

6.000 sq. miles. 
6,000 “ 

6,500 “ 

4.000 “ 

8.000 “ 

350.000 

200.000 

150.000 

350.000 

600.000 

Sandusky h. Dayton 

Dayton & Michigan 

Little Miami _ 

Cleveland & Pittsburg 


Total 

29,500 Sq. Miles. 

1,550,000 

Local Passengers. 



The States of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan are so nearly 
alike in soil, fertility and climate, that we may safely assume 
that the population on the line of the Cincinnati and Great 
Northern Railroad will be fully equal to either of the other 
lines. It is now fast approaching the same density of 
population. Then we find from the above table the 29,500 
square miles gives 1,550,000 local passengers, which is 51 
to a square mile. The 10,000 square miles on the line from 
Dayton to Lansing will therefore furnish 510,000 passen- 


22 


Exposition of the 


gers whfeh will go over some part of the line when that dis- 
trict contains the same density of population, which at the 
present ratio of growth it must have in a short time. The 
Cincinnati and Sandusky road carried 241,500 (almost all 
of whom were local) on 156 miles of road, in a section of 
country not more populous than that from Dayton to Lan- 
sing; and the line from Cleveland to Pittsburg carried 500,- 
000 on a less drainage of country. With these facts before 
us, we consider the average rate as given by the above table 
as not too large, when the same density of population is 
attained. This will give 510,000 local passengers; but 
it will be observed that (on page 15) we made the local 
passengers at the present population , 232,000. Combining 
these ratios (which is fair when we consider the rapid im- 
pulse given to population and business by a railroad) gives 
us 370,000 as not exceeding the number we have a right to 
expect 

Table 4. SHOWING THE ANNUAL INCREASE OF BUSI- 
NESS ON RAILROADS. 

The following table shows the statistics of five roads in 
Ohio in 1858 and 1870: 


BUSINESS. 

in 1858. 

in 1870. 

INCREASE. 

Number of passengers 

$1,725,000 

1,881,108 

6,055,892 

2,730,783 

$3,342,017 

3,512,299 

14,932,943 

5,215,998 

■93 per cent. 
90 “ 

161 “ 

90 “ 

Tons of Freight. 

Gross Receipts . 

Net receipts ... _ . 



Cincinnati Great Northern 'Railroad. 


23 


Length of the roads, 994 miles. Total cost of road and 
equipments, $58,650,000. Net receipts, deducting all 
expenses, $5,215,998. 

This table is invaluable to all railroad investors. It is a 
fair table, for one of the roads is a very poor one, one a very 
good one, and the others a fair average. The results of 
this table are these : 

1. At the end of twelve years, the neiv or increased busi- 
ness of the roads was equal to all they had in the early 
period of their business. 

2. That the rate at which railroad business increases is 
more than double the rate of increase in the whole popula- 
tion. 

3. That the net profit available to stockholders has 
increased 90 per cent, in twelve years, or 75 per cent, in a 
decade, a rate almost treble that of the growth of the whole 
country. 

4. That the net profit is nine per cent, on the whole cost. 
If, then, we suppose what is true of most roads, that the 
bonded debt is at seven or eight per cent., then the stock- 
holders would receive nearly or quite ten per cent. Now, 
this is the actual result of five aver age. roads in Ohio. One 
road in Ohio (and we admit it is the best) made a net profit 
of 20 per cent, for several years. 

This is not in the above table, which is found from aver- 
age roads. The roads in the table are the Central Ohio, 
the Cleveland and Columbus, the Lake Shore, the Pitts- 
burgh and Fort Wayne, and the Cincinnati, Hamilton and 
Dayton. These make together a fair average of railroad 


24 


Exposition of the 


results. The Cincinnati and Great Northern road has not 
only its own peculiar advantages; but will have all and 
more than all the benefits which result logically and inevita- 
bly, from the several facts proved by the above tables. 

Table 5. ESTIMATED RESULTS OF THE ROAD FROM 
DAYTON TO LANSING. 

In the foreging tables and observations, every element 
has been reduced to exactness, except the through business 
of the whole line from Cincinnati to Mackinaw, which has 
no parallel in the previous experience of the country. The 
only basis we have is in the 'proportion between entirely 
through business and local business on long lines. A com- 
parison of through and way business on several long lines 
shows that the business which goes over the entire length 
of the roads is one fifth part of the whole. But in the case 
of the Cincinnati and Great Northern line, connecting the 
whole of the British possessions with the valley of the Ohio, 
and the Peninsula of Michigan with Cincinnati, the propor- 
tion will obviously be greater. But let us assume one-fifth of 
the whole business as a fair proportion ; then the following 
table will represent the business and commercial results of 
the road from Dayton to Lansing, calculated on the precise 
facts we have given : 


Cincinnati & Great Northern Railroad. 


25 


TABLE OF RECEIPTS. 

Estimated on the statistics of the country and of railroads. 


KINDS OF BUSINESS. 

NUMBER. 

| 1 

TONS 

RATE. 

RECEIPTS. 

Local passengers __ . 
Through passengers 

Grain products. _ __ 

Groceries and Manufactures 
Lumber (150,000,000 ft.). __ 

370,000 

74,000 

100,0U0 

100,000 

3 cts. per mile. 
$6 00 

2 50 

2 59 

4 00 

$794,000 

444.000 

250.000 

250.000 

600.000 

! 




$2,338,000 


(a) The local passengers in the above table are estimated 
at one-third (instead of one-half) the distance. 

(h) The freight tonnage in groceries and manufactures 
are evidently below the mark, but let it stand as a minimum . 


TABLE OF RECEIPTS. 

For the whole distance, from Cincinnati to Lansing , based on 

Statistics . 


KINDS OF BUSINESS. 

NUMBER. 

TONS. 

RATE. 

RECEIPTS. 

Local passengers _ 

Through passengers _ _ 

Grain products 

Groceries and Manufactura 

472,000 

94,000 

128,000 

128,000 

3 cts. per mile. 
$6 00 

2 50 

2 50 

$1,341,040 

564.000 

320.000 

320.000 

750.000 

Lumber (150,000,000 ft.) 

— 

— 

5 00 





$3,295,040 


This table is a pro rata for the increased distance on the 
former table. It is probable this is an under rather than 
over a fair estimate for the part between Dayton and Cincin- 


26 


JZxposition of the 


nati ; for if the great competition should reduce the amount 
of freight carried in the Miami valley, there are also the 
facts that the ratio of production there is much greater, 
and the local traffic going out of a city on any road is much 
greater than on an interior line. The pro rata* , therefore, 
on the interior line is rather an under estimate, for the part, 
from Dayton to Cincinnati, even with the competition 
encountered there. Again, if the Great Northern is con- 
tinued to Cincinnati, it will have one immense advantage, 
It will command the Tunnel route, which, when made, will 
undoubtedly control the passenger traffic. It will be much 
more convenient and take less time to distribute passengers 
from the upper level of the city. 

The above tables enable us to give exact results of the 
business of the Great Northern, derived from the unim- 
peachable statistics of railroad experience, and of the pro- 
duction and growth of the country. 

1. Results of the road from Dayton to Lansing : 

1. Total cost ($40,000 per mile) $8,800,000 00 

2. Gross receipts 2,338,000 00 • 

3. Expenses of operation (60 per cent.) 1,402,800 00 

4. Net receipts 935,200 00 

5. Net profits 10£ percent. 

2. Results of the road from Cincinnati to Lansing : 

1. Total cost, 280 miles $11,200,000. 00 

2. Gross receipts 3,295,000 00 

3. Expenses of operation (60 per cent.) 1,977,000 00 

4. Net receipts 1,318,000 00 

6. Net profits per cent. 

While we have made the above tables and estimates on 
the most exact statistical calculation, the results are 


Cincinnati d Great Northern 'Railroad . 


27 


remarkably confirmed by railroad experience, the only true 
test of the effect of railroads on the business of the coun- 
try. The reader will find in Poor’s Manual of railroads in 
the United States, that the average receipts upon all rail- 
roads is $10,000 per mile. The average in the table above 
is near $12,000 per mile; but all who look into the above 
tables and geography of the country, will at once see that the 
Great Northern is in its advantages and prospects, far above 
the average of roads. Again, if any one will examine the 
receipts of the three principal roads leading into Cincinnati, 
he will find their receipts to be equal to what we have esti- 
mated for the Great Northern. Thus our estimates, made 
in detail from the statistics of the country, correspond with 
the railroad experience of the country, and this without at 
all considering its advantages as an arterial line from the 
lakes to the South. But if we extend our view and consider 
the great central artery from the midst of the lakes to 
the metropolitan city of the Ohio valley, and thence to the 
Southern Atlantic, who can calculate the results? They 
are really incalculable. If the Pennsylvania Railroad, with 
lines equivalent to 1,200 miles of single track, earned in 
1870 the enormous sum of seventeen millions of dollars in 
one year, what must be the result of the 1,250 miles from 
Mackinaw, through Cincinnati to Charleston and Savannah ? 
Passing through sixteen degrees of latitude, through 
what must soon be the densest population of the United 
States, having on its own line every variety of production, 
and every mineral of the earth, we hazard nothing in say- 
ing that such a line of road, as a whole, must exceed in its 
results any line of railroad on this continent. 


28 


Exposition of the C. & G. JV\ 'Railroad. 


Confining ourselves, however, to that link of 280 miles 
in Ohio and Michigan, which we have here considered, we 
find that that alone must yield larger profits than most of 
the roads even in this fertile country. And we also find 
(by table 5) that the net receipts of good railroads increase 
at the rate of nine per cent, per annum, so that, considered 
only as a link in the line from Cincinnati to Michigan, few 
roads have offered equal advantages to this ; while, as part 
of a grand arterial line from Lake Huron to the Atlantic, 
no road in the country has more brilliant prospects. 

S. W. MORTON, 

President of Cin. <$r Great Northern R. R. 


APPENDIX. 


After the preceding tables and estimates were fully pre- 
pared it seemed desirable to ascertain the resources and 
results of the sections from Greenville to the Michigan 
Line; and from Cincinnati to the same point. For this 
purpose the following tables and estimates are added : 

Table 1.— RESOURCES OF COUNTIES ON THE LINE OF 
THE CINCINNATI AND GREAT NORTHERN RAIL- 
ROAD FROM GREENVILLE TO MICHIGAN LINE. 


COUNTIES. 

POPULA- 

TION. 

SQUARE 

MILES. 

PRODUCTS. 

SURPLUS. 

Darke. 

32,278 

600 

2,131,000 bush. 

1,000,000 

Mercer. __ 

17,254 

420 

900,000 “ 

400,000 

Jay (Ind.) _ 

14,979 

312 

100,000 “ 

100,000 

Adams (Ind.) _ 

11,382 

320 

550,000 “ 

250,000 

Van Wert. 

15,823 

400 

420,000 “ 

100,000 

Pn.nlding 

8,544 

400 

170,000 “ 


Defiance. ... _ 

15,719 

400 

550,000 “ 

200,000 

DeKalb (Ind.) 

17,163 

200 

500,000 “ 

200,000 

One-half Henry. __ _ 

7,014 

200 

200,000 “ 

50,000 

One-half Fulton. _ __ — 

8,884 

200 

325,000 “ 

100,000 

Williams _ . 

20,991 

400 

760,000 “ 

350,000 

One-half Steuben (Ind.) 

6,425 

200 

300,000 

150,000 

Twelve counties 

176,456 

4,052 

7,210,000 bush. 

2,900,000 


Note 1. An average of 18 miles only on each side of the 
line is taken, which will be seen by examining a map, to 
take only the district in which there can be no competition. 
The county of Allen (Ind.), for example, is excluded, 
because there is a railroad thence to Cincinnati. So, also, 
two other counties in Indiana, for the same reason. 

The u surplus’* in the last column does not mean only 
grain, which is to be transported on railroads, but also ani- 


30 


Appendix . 


mals and whisky, into which corn and oats go. In some 
shape the above surplus will be taken off. The amount is 
calculated by taking off all the wheat and corn necessary 
to support the population and the stock. The residue 
makes the surplus. 

Table 2. REPRESENTS THE PROPORTION OF LOCAL 
PASSENGERS TO A GIVEN POPULATION. 


ROADS. 

population. 

LOCAL 

PASSENGERS. 

RECEIPTS. 

Dayton & Michigan.- 

166,178 
310,013 
213,064 
116 189 
197,845 

240.000 

400.000 

360.000 

174.000 

326.000 

$253,418 

499,526 

241,008 

160,000 

336,000 

01 Aypl n.nri ft. flnliimhiis 

S^.prhislry ft. Oinn.innati 

Sfl.ndnslry ft. Newark 

Mn.riAti.fl. ft. f!inmnnn,t,i ... 


Fi vfi Ron.rls . . 

1,003,289 

1,500.000 

$1,489,952 

• 


This table demonstrates that to each one of the population 
on the road, there is (1^-) one and a half local passengers; 
the average fare of each will be 95 cents. Assuming the 
average fare at 90 cents, we have the following results from 
Greenville to Michigan. The population is 176,456, giving 
264,834 local passengers, which at 90 cents is $238,261. 

Table 3. ESTIMATE OF THE BUSINESS AND RECEIPTS 
OF THE LINE FROM GREENVILLE TO THE MICHI- 
GAN LINE, BEING 110 MILES. 


80URCES. 

AMOUNT. 

RATE. 

RECEIPTS. 

Local Passengers _ _ _ _ 

264,734 

5,000 

100,000 tons. 
50,000 ‘ 

50,000 “ 

90 
$3 00 

3 00 

3 00 

3 00 

$238,261 

15,000 

300.000 

150.000 
150,000 

o 

Through Passengers _ _ 

o o 

Prodno.ft 

Groceries and Manufactures __ 

Miscellaneous _ _ 





$853,261 


Cincinnati & Great JYorther?i Railroad. 


31 


Note 2. The local passengers are nearly exact. The 
through passengers will be unimportant, since from Green- 
ville to the Michigan line is not a through road. 

The produce will be nearly the same as if it went to Lan- 
sing. The groceries and manufactures are probably under- 
rated. Assuming that the above table is nearly correct 
which we believe it to be, and since a considerable part of 
the work is done, lessening the cost, the following is a fair 
statement of the result : 


Total cost of 110 miles 

“ receipts 

“ expenses (60 per cent.) 

Nett profits 

Dividend (8 per cent.) 

Surplus 


$3,000,000 

853,261 

511,956 

341.305 
240,000 

101.305 


Table 4. RESOURCES OF THE COUNTIES ON THE LINE 
OF THE “GREAT NORTHERN " FROM CINCINNATI TO 
MICHIGAN, IN PRODUCTS AND LOCAL PASSENGERS. 


COUNTIE8. 

POPULATION. 

LOCAL 

PASSENGERS. 

PRODUCTS. 

Counties in Table 1 

Preble _ 

176,456 

21,809 

32,003 

39,912 

65,092 

264,734 

32,813 

48,004 

59,868 

97,638 

7,210,000 bushels. 
1,896,921 “ 

1,258,420 “ 

2,738,240 “ 

305,500 “ 

One-half Montgomery 

Butler 

One-fourth Hamilton. 


Sixteen counties 

335,273 

503,05.7 

13,400,081 bushels. 



Note 3. In making an estimate from the above table, the 
local passengers may be taken as nearly exact, although it 
is probable that those from the county of Hamilton are 
underrated. But on the other hand it must be remembered 
that there are seven different railroads from Cincinnati, car- 




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